


After a Long Day

by amaranthmantis



Category: Homestuck
Genre: AU, Disabled Character, Friendship, Native American Character, Other, Trans Character, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-02-13
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:45:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3347450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaranthmantis/pseuds/amaranthmantis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fic followup to Jade/Gamzee RP w/ credibilityproblem (in turn inspired heavily by rememberwhenyoutried's Let There Be Light series, which you really need to go read right now). </p><p>AU Summary: Decades ago, a shipful of refugees fled Alternia. Ship badly damaged, Helmsman burnt out, they set down on the first world that could sustain them.</p><p>It was lucky that the Alternian vessel crashed during a slow and boring day. As it was, military radar operators the world over panicked, and the ensuing political hijinx around access to the aliens made international relations lively for years. </p><p>First contact was weirdly uneventful. The trolls had technological and personal capabilities unlike anything on Earth -- but they couldn't be analyzed or even explained in terms of familiar science. They were psychologically quite relatable. And eminently capable of protecting their interests.</p><p>A bargain: paltry secrets in exchange for a home. Room to grow. Integration. Today, several generations of trolls have known no other home.</p><p>-Jade Harley vents at Karkat about life after meeting Gamzee Makara in the park earlier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After a Long Day

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trollinggardenGnostic [GG]  
CG: HEY, DUNKASS.  
CG: HOW'S CLASSES GOING?  
GG: Not so great... :\  
GG: ...nook for brains. :p  
CG: THAT SOUND YOU JUST HEARD WAS MY JAW DROPPING TO THE FLOOR AT IN COMPLETE ASTONISHMENT AT THE SPEED OF SOUND, SHATTERING WINDOWS ACROSS THE ENTIRE METRO AREA.  
CG: I'M NOT EVEN BEING SARCASTIC, THIS LITERALLY IS JUST SO UNEXPECTED THAT I'M REDUCED TO FAWNING HYPERBOLE HERE.  
CG: SERIOUSLY, JADE. WHAT'S GOING ON?  
GG: Well...  
GG: to be honest, I don't feel very welcome in the physics department.  
GG: My groupmates got all the credit for our project in Relativity. They just had me run the powerpoint while they did all the talking. :\  
GG: On our peer evaluations, everyone rated my participation "satisfactory."  
GG: Even though I did most of the actual work...  
CG: PEOPLE ARE ASSHOLES. IT'S LIKE A UNIVERSAL CONSTANT.  
GG: It's more than that.  
GG: I went to talk to my professor about it, and he kind of...  
GG: He did that thing where he hinted I was here on scholarships because of affirmative action. :|  
GG: And that I was looking for special treatment and that I shouldn't even be complaining because I get a free ride and a good grade on the group project thanks to my classmates.  
CG: OH JEEZ. |:B  
GG: My undergrad research advisor is very dismissive of my work and barely has time for me.  
GG: Even though he's always at department events with me.  
GG: He actually told me it was silly to even think of researching the stuff I'm interested. When there are so many more qualified people who can't make heads or tails of it.  
GG: I'm a third-year student, Karkat. And everyone treats me like I'm a dumb, no-good lazy Indian looking for special handouts. :(  
GG: At tribal college I was top of my class, did you know that?  
CG: YOU'VE NEVER MENTIONED IT. PROBABLY BECAUSE IT WOULD INVOLVE CALLING ATTENTION TO YOUR OWN ACHIEVEMENTS. GOD KNOWS WE COULDN'T HAVE THAT.  
CG: THAT'S LIKE THE FIRST STEP ON THE TWISTED AND GRIEF-STREWN ROAD TOWARD DEVELOPING A SELF-ESTEEM, I HEAR.  
GG: Since I transferred, my grades have been nothing but excellent and all of my paperwork is on file with the disability office. None of my professors know about...  
CG: ABOUT...  
GG: You know.  
CG: OH.  
CG: YEAH, THAT.  
GG: Or about my delay. Or missing so much grade school.  
GG: I am honestly getting to the point where I don't know if I can even handle the thought of going into science anymore!  
GG: And I don't know what to do with myself if that happens.  
CG: THAT'S SELF-DEFEATING BULLSHIT. YOU'RE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS, JADE.  
CG: EVEN IF IT'S HARD RIGHT NOW AND YOU CAN'T SEE A WAY, YOU'RE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS, AND YOU'RE GOING TO SHOW EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE ASSHOLES SOMEDAY.  
GG: I wish I could believe that. :|  
CG: YEAH WELL, I KIND OF HAVE TO BELIEVE IT. SCIENCE IS IN YOUR BLOOD, AND YOU'RE DOWNRIGHT AMAZING AT IT.  
GG: How would you even know. :p  
CG: I PASSED MY FUCKING BIOLOGY EXAM IS HOW. THANKS TO ALL YOUR STUDY SESSIONS.  
GG: Oh my gosh that's great!!!  
CG: IF I NEVER HAVE TO DO HARDY-WEINBERG CALCULATIONS AGAIN IT WILL BE TOO SOON.  
CG: LOOK, JADE.  
CG: I'M NOT SAYING IT'S GOING TO BE EASY. JUST THAT I BELIEVE IN YOU.  
CG: I KNOW YOU HATE IT WHEN I PUT YOU ON A PEDESTAL, AND YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT ABOUT THAT STUFF.  
CG: BUT LISTEN TO ME FOR A SECOND, OK?  
CG: YOU ARE ASTOUNDINGLY BRILLIANT, AND I DON'T SAY THAT BECAUSE OF JEALOUSY OR ADMIRATION. I'M SAYING THAT BECAUSE IT'S YOUR DAMN MEAL TICKET HERE.  
CG: YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE YOUR FRIENDS NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, BUT WE BOTH KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE HARDER FOR YOU TO LET ANYONE ELSE TAKE CARE OF YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE THAN IT WOULD FOR YOU TO FIND SOME WAY TO SHOW THOSE SMUG SELF-IMPORTANT SHIT TRUMPETS HOW IT'S REALLY DONE.  
CG: YOU WOULD NEVER STAND FOR IT. AND YOU HAVEN'T BURNT OUT YET.  
CG: SO YOU'RE GOING TO FIND SOME WAY PAST IT, NO MATTER WHAT.  
CG: MAYBE YOU'LL BEAT THEM AT THEIR OWN GAME, MAYBE YOU'LL JUST CHANGE THE RULES AND FIND ANOTHER WAY TO MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU.  
CG: IF EVERYONE TREATS YOU LIKE A JERK IN RESEARCH THEN MAYBE YOU CAN TEACH INSTEAD. I HAPPEN TO KNOW YOU'RE GOOD AT THAT. YOUR PASSION IS INFECTIOUS AND YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO EXPLAIN THESE MIND-NUMBINGLY COMPLEX CONCEPTS IN WAYS SO SIMPLE EVEN I CAN PRETEND TO UNDERSTAND THEM.  
CG: OR SOME OTHER POSSIBILITY I CAN'T EVEN NAME BECAUSE, GONNA BE HONEST?  
CG: I HAVE NO MORE CLUE THAN YOU DO HERE.  
CG: I DO KNOW THAT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, YOU *WILL* FIGURE THIS OUT.  
CG: AND WE'LL ALL BE HERE FOR YOU NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.  
GG: Okay. :(  
CG: "OKAY?" OKAY WHAT?  
GG: I appreciate what you're saying, a lot.  
GG: It is just going to take a while to sink in. :\  
GG: But thank you anyway for listening to all of that, and for saying what you did.  
GG: It means a lot.  
CG: LISTEN, WANT TO COME OVER?  
CG: NEPETA AND I ARE ORDERING TAKEOUT, AND FEFERI WAS GOING TO BRING SOME MOVIES BY LATER.  
GG: Maybe in a bit.  
GG: I met someone really nice today and I want to message them first.  
CG: FINE. JUST DON'T COME CRYING TO ME WHEN HER DUMB MOIRAIL EATS ALL THE CREAM CHEESE WONTONS.  
GG: :p  
GG: Tell Nepeta and Feferi I'll try to stop by, ok? Seeya, Karkat.  
CG: LATER.  
gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]


End file.
